System of construction for foundations, dams, sea-walls, and the like.



No 868092' PATENTE SYSTEM OF CONSTRUCTION FOR FOUNDATIONS, DAMS., SEA WALLS,

AND THE LIKE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 1. 1907.

a Simms-SHEET 1.

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A test: l vInventor:

by WQ' Atty PATENTED 00T. 15, 1907.

T. HENNEBIQUE. SYSTEM 0T CONSTRUCTION PoR TSUNDATIONS, DAMS, SEA WALLS,

Mm THT, LIKE.V APPLIUATION FILED MAY 1, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 868,092. LATBNTBD 00T. 151907.

F. HENNLBIQUE. SYSTEM 0F coNsTRUGTIoN PoR POUNDATIONS, DAMS, SLA WALLS,

AND THB LIKE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 1, 1907.

` 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

byv Atty FRANCOIS'llENNEBlQUE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

SYSTEM OF CONSTRUCTION FOR FOUNDATIONS, DAMS, SEA-WALLS, AND LIKE.

No. seaoea Speccation of Letters altatent.

Patented Oct. l5, 1907.

Application ned my 1, i907. senti' No. 371,219.

To all whom it lmay concern:

lie it known that l, FnANors HENNEBIQUE, a citi-"' Yen oi the Republic oi France, residing at Paris, France, have invented a certain new and useful System of Construction for Foundations, Dams, Sea-Walls, and the.l

liike, of which the following is a specification. Hy invention relates to the construction of foundations, dams, sea-walls, piers and abutments of bridges, l

retaining-walls and other similar works to be erected in water; and it has for its obiect to provide a system wherein a caisson-like structure, built wholly or in part on shore and then launched and floated into position, is so designed and constructed that it can be sunk and secured in place by means adapted and so applied, distributed and localized as to provide a constant even base on which the caisson structure may rest and to best insure its stability under the stresses to which it may be subjected without loading the ground at any point underneath beyond its-bearing capacity.

rl`he invention consists, broadly stated, of a caissonlike structure ol' suitable size and shape formed by joining together side by side a plurality of vertical or vertically disposed water-tight cells some of which are open at, the top and closed at the bottom and the others open both at the top and bottom, the former serving to float the caisson into position and then receive loads of ballast suflicent to sink the structure and hold it inv place-according toconditions while the latter serve as self-feeding magazines, when once the structure is in place, to receive and retain columns 0i loose material, 'such as smallstones, rubble, or the like, which will The application of the invention Ato several forms of caisson construction and the way in which these caissons are secured in place are illustrated' in the accompanying dra-wings, in which* A Figure 1 is a transyerse section of a sea-wall or mole and Figs. 2 and 3, a horizontal section on the line a a of Fig. l and a sectional elevation on the line b b of Fig. 2, respectively, of a longitudinal portion of Vthe same: Figs. 4, 5, and 6, a transverse section and a plan and sectional elevation, respectively, o a. portion of quay or embankment wall; Figs. 7, 8 .and 9, a. trans verse section and a plan and sectional elevation, relspectively, of a portion oi another embankment wall; and Figs. l0 and ll, a transverse section and plan, respectively, of a. portion of althird embankment wall.

Like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

lhe sea-wall or mole shown in Figs. l--B comprisesouter side walls l, end walls not shown), inner longitudinal walls or partitions 2 and transverse partitions 3 which divide it into three longitudinal series of vertical cells orfcompartments, and bottom walls 4 which close the lower ends of the outer'series oi compartments, on

' either side, andinake oithem water-tight cells or boxes v5, While the lower open ends of the intermediate series of cells 6 are preferably enlarged by an outward inclination of the lower part ofthe walls 2 as shown.

The closed-bottom cells, strengthened as is usually found desirable bya series of horizontal ribs 7, are loaded f with water ballast 8 sufficient in amount and properly Idistributed to first suitably float the structure and thento sink it and secure it in position, as indicated, and the open-botto1n cells are then charged'with small stones 9, or other suitable movable material, by spreading out over the surface oi the ground unden ncath and filling up the irregularities in its surface constantly assure a perfect foundation for the caisson and contribute materially to its stability. The water ballast which is preferably employed in the closedlbottom cells during the preliminary operations of floating and sinking the caisson, because of the convenience with which it can be filled into the cells and withdrawn if necessary, is eventually replaced with other ballast material such as stones, concrete, or masonry, the load `in each of these as well as in the open-bottom cells being adapted in each case to the bearing capacity of tluground underneath and the degree oi stability required under the conditions-to which the structure may be subjected. l.

A continuous sea-wall caribe constructed and placed in sections o suitable length, the e sections being joined together by filling with con creteor other suitable material .the cells formed by half-cells left at the abutting ends of two adjoiningsections, as shown at l() in Figs.. 2 and 3. I

l'n the three examples of embankment walls shown in the remaining figures of the drawing, the first (Figs.

4--6) comprises a single longitudinal series of cells formed by the side-walls'l and transverse partitions 3, in which closed bottom cells 5 alternate with open bottom cells 6, the bottom walls 4 of the former and the enlarged lower ends of the latter being provided by -incl-ining towards each other until they moet the bottom portions of adjacent transverse partitions. The closedbottom cells-are strengthened and partially sub-divided v vertically by the incomplete transverse partitions ll,

whileother incomplete partitions l2 sub-divide the lower ends of the openbottom cells and serve both to strengthen their walls and to distribute in its fall the movable material with which they are charged. ln the first modification (Figs. 7 9) the interior of the caisson is divided into two longitudinal series of cells, the cells of one series being closed at the bottom by walls 4 inclined -inwardly and downwardly from an outer side wall to the inner longitudinal wall which extends down somewhat below the bottom of the side walls. The third lform o embankment wall (Figs. l0 What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters and 1l) comprises a single series of alternating closed'- bottom and open-bottom cells and has an enlarged base formed by an outward inclination of the lower portion of one oi its side walls. In all three cases, the caisson may be built in sections which are joined together at l0 in a manner similar to that hereinabove described. The embankment is completed, after the caissons have been sunk into place and suitably loaded, by filling in with earth'or other suitable material i4 along' one side thereof. As indicated by the dotted lines l5 in Figs. 4 and 7, the upper part of the embankment wall may bc secured against the lateral thrust of the filling material y14 by suitable anchor-ages placed at intervals. In the last example, this .lateral thrust is taken up by the enlarged base of the caisson, the bottom of `which may itself be secured against lateral displacement 'byv means of suitable piles 16 (Figs. 10 and Ill) which are driven for a portion of their length into the ground below the open-bottom cells before these cells are loaded. In the last example, also, the closed-bottom, as well as the open-bottom, cells are shown as finally loaded with small stones or rubble.

The walls and partitions of the caissons may, ofcourse, be made oi any suitable material; but l preer-to use reinforced concrete throughout and to make these structures monolithic. The caissons can, in practice, either be completed before they are launched or their construction can becommenced on shore or` on some suitable float and the walls built up to the height required to oat them and subsequently completed while afloat in the water. structures herein shown and described are merely illustrative ot my new system of construction and that the system is well nadapted for use in many different 'ways and ior many different purposes'. In particular, the number 'and relative disposition of the two'knds o cells, their shape both external and internal, and the manner in which they are reinforced and united together to form caissons of the required shape and size can be varied widely without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages o my invention.

And, while I prefer, for reasons of convenience as v stated, to use a water ballast during the preliminary op- It' will also be understood that the specific Patent, is.-

1. A caisson construction fonfoundations, dams` seawalls, and the like, comprising a' plurality of vertically disposed cells some of which are enlarged and open and otherscontracted and closed at their lower ends.

2. A. construction for foundations, dams, sea-Walls, and the like` comprising'a 'monolithic caisson of reinforced concrcte havingr outer wallsand inner walls or partitions which divide it into a plurality ,of vertically'disposed opentop cells some with closed and others with open bottoms, the open-bottom cells being enlarged und the closedbottom cells contracted at their lower ends. i

A caisson construction for foundations, dams, senwnlls, and the like, comprising a plurality of vertically disposed cells some otv which are openand others closed at their lower endsV and having,rat an end one or more half or open-sided cells. x

,4. A construction for foundations, dams, sea-walls, and the like, Acomprising a caisson made up of a plurality of vertlcally disposedcells some ot` which are closed at the bottom and are charged with ballast sufcient to sink the caisson into. position while others are open at the bottom and are charged with material capable of illing up irregularities in the surface of the ground underneath and of spreading out under the closed bottom cells.

Al method of constructing` foundations, dams, seu- 'wallsf and the like, which consists in building and launching a caissony composed of a plurality of vertically disposed cells some of. which are closed and others open at the bottom, sinking the caisson into place by suitably loading the closed-bottom ,cells with ballast, and` then loading,y the open-bottom'cells with loose material.

6. A method of constructingv foundations, dams, seawalls, `and the like, which consists. in building u caisson of suitable shape and size and divided by walls and partitions into a plurality of vertically disposed cells some of which are closed and others open'at the bottom, sinking said caisson into place by loading the closed-bottom cells with ballast,` then charging the open-bottom cells with loose materiahhnd finally replacing the temporary ballast in the closed-bottoxn cells with other suitable material.

7. A method of constructing"foundations, dams, seuwalls, and the like, which consists in building caisson sections composed of a plurality of vertically disposed cells some of which are closed and others open at the bottom, sinking said caisson sections into` place end to end by suitably loadingtheir closed-bottom cells with ballast, loading the open-bottom cells with suitable material, and uniting together said caisson sections by filling with suitA able material the cells formed by half-cells left ut the abutting ends of two adjoining sections.

In witness whereof I have `signed my nume in the presence of two witnesses,

FRANCOIS HENNEBIQUE.

Witnesses H. C. Coxn, ALPHoNsu MuJEAN.

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